funchal disaster!!!

[seabourndt]

we are still in egypt! after lvg aqaba the port engine caught fire. so limped to safaga where are still there after nearly 2 weeks. still wtg for a flightb to sydney hopefuklly in nnext coup-le of days. they say ship will be theree another54 20days before continueing t6op freemantle arrivinbg on the 13th jan 2006.

what a mess! never going on cic again. only about 100 passengers left here

talkj soon

dave

[Druke I]

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

 

Travel often is an adventure.

[RRAMBLER]

Seabourndt

 

My comiserations. Must have caused great confusion and frustration, not to mention concern over security issues.

 

Might be hard to judge now, but do you have any reason to believe the Ship may not be reliable for furture cruises? We are booked on the return voyage leaving Fremantle 20 March.

 

Best wishes

[LauraS]

I've been asked to post the following message to clarify issues brought about in the above posting.

 

"Dear Cruise Critic Community,

We write to inform you and to clarify the situation concerning Funchal’s voyage ex Athens – Fremantle (14th Nov-17th Dec).

On the 20th November, The Funchal suffered a breakdown in one of her pistons in her port main engine and is now being attended by our expert engineers in Safaga where repairs are underway. The new scheduled date for departure from Safaga is now December 16th, arriving in Fremantle on January 13th. Despite this delay, 80 passengers have decided to remain onboard during the repairs accepting our complimentary shore excursions and a A$200 per person bar voucher. Passengers wishing to be repatriated were offered air tickets to their final destinations in Australia or their country of origin as well as a seventy per cent re-imbursement of their ship’s ticket. To our great satisfaction, the outbound voyage will be operated with calls at all ports originally planned. We have even introduced an additional call at Lembar, on the island of Lombok, close to Bali.

The new ship’s itinerary is as follows:

24th December Male 13.30 22.00

26th December Colombo 07.00 17.00

30th December Phuket 07.00 17.00

01st January Singapore 07.30 ---

02nd January Singapore --- 13.30

04th January Semarang 09.30 20.00

06th January Bali 08.00 ---

07th January Bali --- --

08th January Bali -- 01.00

08th January Lembar 06.00 17.00

13th January Fremantle 07.00

We would again like to apologize for any inconvenience and assure the Cruise Critic Community that the Funchal will continue to serve our passengers with utmost care and attention. Two of our passengers have already kindly communicated us their words of thanks and appreciation to CIC Australia despite this unfortunate incident:

“Dear Mr. Hunter,

As you know the Athens-Fremantle (14Nov-17Dec) cruise on the Funchal

has experienced delay due to engine problem in the Red Sea. We had a

wonderful time on the ship and would have elected to stay on board to

complete the cruise on its extended itinerary but for our commitment

in Perth over the Christmas season. We have taken the option to return

early to Perth.

Firstly we wish to expressed our appreciation to the Captain and his

crew. We enjoyed our thirteen days on the cruise; the food was good,

the service efficient, the programs interesting and, above all, the

staff were friendly and warm. All the good things we were told about

Funchal were validated in our experience.

We particularly appreciated being personally escorted by Romana, the

Cruise Director, to the Hurgharda airport until we were properly checked in for

flying to Cairo. We felt that she had gone the second mile in taking great

care to ensure that we were alright. Please convey our warmest

appreciation to her. We would like to commend her and the Captain for the way they

handled the difficult situation during the period following the engine

breakdown. Although there were a few difficult and dissatisfied

passengers, the majority were cognisant of the fact that things do happen in life that

are beyond one's control and are of the view that Classic International

Cruise have handled the situation very fairly. Our opinion is that both

The Captain and Romana have handled the difficult situation in commendable

ways.

We are now exploring the possibility of rejoining the cruise from

Singapore to Fremantle after we have discharged our commitment here over the

Christmas season. We have spoken to Jemma on the phone this morning. Kindly let

us know AS SOON AS you have a confirmed itinerary and pricing as we

are keen to get on board again.

Best wishes,

John and Siew Wheeler

Yours Faithfully,

World Cruises Agency,

Managers of Classic International Cruises

[seabourndt]

thanks for a nice reply from cic cruises,i of course enjoyed my time on board the funchal, shame about the problem which cannot be helped. i got off the ship at 2nd attempt after fog returned us to ship. had a good flight to sydney now on the way back to the uk. looking forward the the refund. don't think i'll use cic again.

dave